First identification of Parnassius apollo and P. nomion (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) larval host plants in Mongolia

Abstract

We initiated a project to study the ecology of P. apollo and the more common congener P. nomion, which is sympatric in Mongolia. One of our primary goals was to gather data on P. apollo and P. nomion butterfly habitat associations, including especially larval host plant species. We conducted our work in the boreal taiga forests of the Khentey Mountain Range in the southern Siberian ecological region of Mongolia. We systematically searched for suitable habitat for larvae and once we located caterpillars, we identified the host plants and gathered data on habitat associations. We found both P. apollo and P. nomion caterpillars on host plants at several sites and evidence of eclosed pupae at a couple of sites, enabling us to identify the host plants, a crucial piece of information needed to develop conservation programming and habitat modeling. The host plant species were the stonecrops Sedum aizoon, Sedum telephium (syn. Sedum purpureum), and Rhodiola rosea (syn. Sedum rosea). We further describe the habitat associations in which we found the caterpillars. For these butterfly species, the exact host plants in Mongolia remained unknown until we conducted this work.

Keywords

• Apollo butterfly
• Habitat
• Khentey Mountains
• Nomion butterfly